Dev Blog #2 - Laying The Groundwork
Welcome back everyone! We know it has been some time (more than we hoped!) but we are happy to return to fill you in on what we've been working on. Around the time we released our last blog, we reached an exciting milestone in Dark Rising's development:
For the first time, we have reached a fully playable state of the game. This includes a prototype of our main gamemode, as well as features like escaping, healing, resurrecting, and a plethora of chase-based mechanics.
With a better idea on the scope of our project, it became clear that parts of our foundation would need more work, which is where we've spent the majority of our time since. This part of game development isn't very easy to share, nor is it that interesting, which is why there's been such a delay in news.
However, we've accumulated enough things to share, and we're excited to bring you all in on what's been going on!
ORIGINAL MUSIC
Yup, you read that right, we have recently partnered with the talented Christien Michael Scott, a music composer and producer, to create a completely original soundtrack for Dark Rising.
Christien is responsible for crafting the ideal soundscape for our universe, ranging from tense ambience to thrilling chases, he's been working closely to create music that highlights the exciting gameplay and atmosphere.
We know that words can only do so much, so why not cut to the chase? Below are examples of music created for Dark Rising. These are snippets of official soundtracks that will be used ingame.
In addition to general ambience, each and every killer will also be receiving a unique soundtrack. Below is a look at a couple of our tension-tracks, an audio track to indicate how close a killer may be. As the killer comes closer, the music becomes more intense, warning you of potential danger!
Lastly, we wanted to give you a look at one of our chase-tracks, the music you hear while being pursued by the killer. The longer these interactions last, the more exciting it becomes. This is now reflected in the music, as the chase progresses, the audio grows more climatic, emphasizing the moment.
Audio warning, the track starts with a bang!
(and yes, each killer will have their own unique chase music)
ACCESSIBILITY
Our goal is to enable players to be comfortable and play in a way that feels best to them, making accessibility a major focus for us. Currently, we support the ability to change Field Of View (both in third-person, and first-person perspectives), adjust camera smoothing, camera shake intensity, and music volume.
On top of this, we are also including the ability to rebind inputs in Dark Rising. Currently we have support for rebinding on both keyboard and gamepad. Mobile customization is also in the works, including changing your button layout, creating new buttons, and rebinding.
GAMEPLAY MECHANICS
To round off this blog, here is some new footage of the gameplay in Dark Rising. You may be able to catch glimpses of the objective in testing, but please keep in mind everything is very early and may be subject to change!
ZIPLINES
One new mechanic we've been working on are ziplines. A Zipline can be setup in the match by a survivor, making for a strong escape route. However, killers can also sabotage ziplines, forcing survivors to repeat the process.
DOORS
In addition to ziplines, we have also fleshed out the functionality of our doors. When a door is barricaded, it can now be broken by the killer from the opposite side.
HEALING
Healing has also made its way into the game! When a survivor is injured, they can be healed by one or more fellow teammates in the match. By default, they cannot heal themselves, making teamwork important in staying healthy.
BANISHING
Next, here is an early look at Banishing, the process in which a killer eliminates a survivor from the match. When a survivor becomes downed on the ground, the killer can begin the Banish action.
Successfully banishing a survivor removes a life, and if the survivor has no lives remaining, they are eliminated from the match. Otherwise, they are transformed into an Idol, a pickupable object in the world.
Survivors who are downed also have the ability to recover back to the injured state. Killers must make haste to banish a survivor or else they may lose the opportunity. Various actions, such as stunning, will interrupt the banish action.
REVIVING
To return to the match, a living survivor must bring the Idol to a Revive Table, and perform a revive action to resuscitate the banished player.
A banished player may spectate other survivors during the match, but they cannot spectate the killer.
PROCEDURAL MAP DESIGN
Lastly, we thought we'd end this blog like last time by showing the progress towards our procedural map system. Since the last blog, we have been focusing on creating more variety in the form of filler props, occupying the space between tiles and helping break sight lines.
CONCLUSION
That wraps up our second developer blog! We're incredibly thankful to have a community that enjoys reading these deeper dives, the reception to the first blog was overwhelming and we're genuinely thrilled to keep sharing more in the future.
We'd also like to remind interested folks to sign up for our playtesting group if you haven't done so already! We will soon be letting in more members as we aim to test bigger things, and we're really looking to hear your feedback to make this game the best it can be.
Have a great week and stay tuned for the next post!